All Forum Posts by: Francis Bernadel

$200K+ is a lot of capital. It would be wise to not throw all of it in your first deal (having reserves is crucial). You should first flesh out your buying criteria more. You mention a 3bed/2bath home that is rent ready so new construction, now get into the nitty gritty. Will this be a primary residence or long distance investment? You mention you travel for work so how will that affect your criteria? Where should this property be? Depending on your answer of the previous question, that'll limit your scope of search. The prices of homes will also change with location. ($200k homes don't exist in my neighborhood 😅). It's great you've acknowledged what you're not willing to do from the start with respects to self-managing. Now you can factor that in ahead of time when running numbers on a deal as well as set up systems for easy property management.

There are so many other things to address after figuring out your criteria but this is the first step before jumping into a deal. I understand it's tempting to ask a professional on what to do so you can just follow it but I would advise you be more thoughtful as this is very situationally based on your needs and wants. Read books and listen to interview style podcasts on the topic to get a better understanding of what you're looking for and how to accomplish it.

Hope I was helpful. All the best!

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post Mohammed! Glad I'm not alone on this. Will take your advice to heart.

I joined NACA on November 2023. Since then I've been patiently saving until I reach the goal amount my in-house agent suggested before we start looking at properties. It is frustrating to not feel very proactive in these almost two years. I try to learn about real estate, the strategies behind actions, how to find deals, all of the things you'll need to know just for me to not be able to put them to actual use. I am feeling very impatient with how things are going and would like to hear the thought is the BP community. I've heard and seen many stories on how NACA has helped them obtain a home that was best for them but I have a personal goal to purchase and live in a house in the next year/year and a half. I don't see it going this way with NACA, maybe a conventional loan with 3% down is better for me. For some background, I'm looking to buy a 3 family property in Queens, NY. Maybe even Brooklyn.

Good morning!

Hope everyone is having a good day! Would like to introduce myself to the BiggerPockets community. I joined BP just over a week ago to immerse myself in the real estate community and learn how to buy a home in my city (Queens, NY). My profession is a building engineer for warehouse facilities, with a background in electrical. I'm not a licensed electrician but I did graduate from trade school. Very familiar with working electricity and practicing safety. If you're looking for someone to do small/simple jobs on a property and want to save a little money, feel free to reach out to me! I do work very early in the mornings for my job (5 am - 3pm; Wednesday to Saturday) but I am open to working later in the evening or on my off-days.

Appreciate your time.

Welcome!

I'm also in the NYC area looking to house hack. 😅 Big dreams in an expensive market.

@Stephen Morales Thanks for the advice! I did feel two comps was too small but worked with what I found. Will work on finding that third comp.

Good morning everyone!

Thought I'd throw myself to the sharks and see if I can swim with this post lol. Reviewing what I've learned online and actually put it to use on a real property. Searched around my local market and found one to practice on.

Subject Property

• Duplex
• Bed: 9
• Bath: 3
• Sq Ft: 2,584
• Built: 1945
• SOLD AS-IS (meaning it's likely distressed!)

Using Redfin, I followed the steps laid out for me, funneling sold properties nearby in the last six months with similar bed/bath and square footage, built around the same year/decade. Found these two properties.

Comp 1

• Sale Price: $1.35M
• Bed : 7
• Bath: 2
• Sq Ft: 2300
• Built: 1930

Comp 2

• Sale Price: $1.34M
• Bed: 7
• Bath: 2
• Sq Ft: 2300
• Built: 1930

The average price per square feet was $585. Multiplied that by the subject properties square feet (2,584) to get an estimated ARV of $1,511,640 or $1.5M.

How did I do? Were the properties similar enough? I appreciate any criticism.

PS.

Things I didn't mention that may be important:

• Both comps have finished basements and garage space
• Both comps are duplexes
• For the subject property, the description mentions each floor has "3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, updated kitchens with ample counter space, modern appliances, and generous living areas filled with natural light... separate utilities (2 gas, 2 electric meters)"

That last part makes me think this maybe a potential Triplex in disguise.

What are your thoughts?